Who Needs Seatbelts?

My life in Cairo would not have been the same if I didn't ride a microbus three times a week. So, Fernando and I have decided to recount some of our most exciting microbus experiences here, to make sure we never forget how much fun it is to ride a microbus in Cairo.

I documented our first few adventures on the official blog a few weeks ago, recalling the first time when we didn't understand how paying our bus fare worked, and my arms getting a lot of attention as the guy in front of me wouldn't stop staring at them.

We certainly can't forget the pimped-out party bus we got on once, with its blue lights, fringed dashboard, red-tinted ceiling lights and serious bass which shook the seats. Or the time we drove by what appeared to be part of a wedding procession, where one of the cars had a grid of Christmas lights covering the windshield. Or Fernando getting so crammed between me and a random lady that he had to hold himself up using the seat in front of him so he wouldn't squish her. That ride was the same one where a man turned and chastised me for cracking my knuckles, using a combination of Arabic, English and French. Or the time when the seat in front of Fernando had this strange, basketball-sized growth that was looming onto his seat. Or the two guys who jumped on the back bumper of our bus and free-rode for a little while.

Some Time Off

So, as I said before, we were given some time off recently which I think everyone really needed. For better or for worse, so far we've spent most of that time in a pretty Western manner. After ordering in breakfast yesterday (for me - a bagel, something I hadn't had in months) and relaxing around the house on our computers, we all went off in assigned pairs to do some reflecting. Maheen and I went to a really nice cafe nearby, where we split a cheesecake and a Twix tart and I had a cappuccino as we talked about our time in Cairo so far and just life in general.

Most of the group then reconvened at City Stars, a beyond-description gigantic mall about 45 minutes from here in Heliopolis. It's 7 stories tall, with hundreds of stores, restaurants, a cinema, 2 entertainment/theme park areas - like omg extravagent. We ate at Fuddruckers, where I had my first salad since coming here (which was delicious), and then wandered vaguely upwards and around. We had gone to the mall to see a movie, but almost reconsidered even going to see it in lieu of just wandering around. But we went and saw Toy Story 3 (not before grabbing some snacks at Cinnabon) in English with Arabic subtitles, which was an amazing movie.

The whole movie experience was extremely Egyptian though. We had heard that the movie started at 9, our ticket said it started at 9:30, and the movie actually started at 10. The movie was in 3-D, so naturally we had to buy 3-D glasses - why would they be included in the ticket? And, half-way through the movie it completely stopped - there was an intermission/smoke break for the viewers. But it was fun and, like I said, the movie was great.

Happy Birthday, Amreeka

So, the Fourth came and went, marking the first time I've been out of the country for its birthday. We celebrated by going to a place called the Maadi House, a sort of clubhouse (unsurprisingly, in Maadi, an area of Cairo) that functions as an unofficial expat haven. We had our lecture there, from a Coptic Christian man who really just facilitated an interesting (but too short) discussion on religion, and then moved on to the buffet of hotdogs, burgers, wings, chicken, potato salad, baked beans and pasta salad. It was so fabulously American, as they played some American hits over the speakers and we watched kids play darts and do three-legged races and grabbed popcorn and cotton candy from a stand.

It was great, but kinda emphasizes the point I made in my most recent post on the official DukeEngage blog - we never fully immerse ourselves into Cairo. Yeah, we go out to definitively un-touristy areas and try to interact with Egyptians and go to Egyptian places as much as possible, but at the end of the day we return to our apartment with our Kelloggs cereal and speak in English. The truth is, this experience is only 2 months, and there are so many of us that it almost makes it harder to fully immerse because we're always with each other. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, or that it would even be possible to try harder and immerse into Cairo further, I just think it drives home the point that I'm not Egyptian and I shouldn't get mad when strangers assume I'm just another tourist. Because, honestly, the difference between me and some tourist really isn't that distinctive.

Anyway, had a great Fourth, and I hope you all did as well. All of you in Tybee - I'm jealous, I hope you all have a fabulous time! Thinking of all of you.